Content levels
Positive tags
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Synopsis
A bond she didn't choose.A love she can't escape.A creature so powerful it bends the limits of time.Smart, sassy, and sanguine, Des Mildue is a traveling sellsword in Rescalin, a dry and dusty kingdom full of rogues, opportunists, and thieves. She keeps her nose clean, brazens it out with a blade when she can't, and keeps others at arm's length where they can't mess up her plans.That is, until a sword fight gone wrong leaves her tied by blood to the first dragon hatched in centuries. Suddenly, Des has to contend with a new voice in her head: haughty, willful Esquidamelion. Des wants to leave Squid by the roadside, but the blood bond has other ideas.With half the world on their tail - including Liv, her beautiful, faithless ex who Des is *definitely* over - Des must search for answers for why so many are willing to kill, maim and torture to get their hands on Squid. But she's beginning to suspect her blood bond has tied her not only to a dragon, but to a fight for Rescalin's future...and no one else even knows it's at risk.If you like the kind of story that grabs you by the shirtfront and hauls you through mystery, magic, adventure and betrayal, with a side of sapphic romance, pick up The Blood-Born Dragon, first in a new trilogy from debut author J.C. Rycroft.
Is The Blood-Born Dragon appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 16 and up.
This adult fantasy features sword fights, pursuit by dangerous enemies who threaten torture, and developing sapphic romance (likely fade-to-black or mild intimacy). The tone is adventurous with humor despite stakes.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, mild sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include torture, violence, and betrayal.
Who'll love this
Readers will love the snarky sellsword who gets bonded to a dragon with its own personality and has to outrun dangerous pursuers while dealing with her ex.